Eriksson Ek's winner capped a frantic finish after the Panthers had controlled much of the contest. According to SVT Sport, Joel Eriksson Ek described his mindset in the final moments, saying he simply wanted to get the puck away. Florida goaltender Daniil Tarasov made 47 saves in the loss, but could not stop the final shot.
The Panthers had built their lead on goals from Matthew Tkachuk and Aaron Ekblad, with multiple reports confirming the 2-0 advantage after two periods. The Panthers' offense showed flashes despite the defeat. Matthew Tkachuk put Florida in front 2-1 just 35 seconds into the third period when he set up to the left of the net and tipped Sam Reinhart's slap shot from the left face-off circle.
I didn't think much, I just wanted to get the puck away.
Tkachuk later completed a hat trick with an empty-net goal at 18:08, according to research from two sources. However, the team has struggled recently, having lost nine of its past 11 games and concluding a four-game road trip with a 1-3-0 record. Elsewhere, the Detroit Red Wings experienced mixed results.
Simon Edvinsson scored a goal against the Dallas Stars, with his shot going into the stomach of Jake Oettinger, who then deflected it into the goal, according to official sources. Lucas Raymond scored to tie that game, sending it to overtime. According to SVT Sport, Lucas Raymond described the point as enormous but noted the team wanted two, given how tight the standings are at this time of year.
It's an enormous point for us. But we wanted two, it's so tight at this time of the year and Dallas is a good team.
In another game, Patrick Kane scored two goals and Alex DeBrincat had three assists in a 5-2 win over the Calgary Flames. Recent losses have raised concerns for Detroit. The Red Wings lost to the Philadelphia Flyers after nearly coming back from a 0-4 deficit, ultimately falling 5-3, with Lucas Raymond scoring in the defeat.
Alex DeBrincat scored the lone goal in another loss, with the team having lost seven of its past 10 games (3-5-2). John Gibson made 20 saves in that contest. Research indicates the Red Wings have been outscored 20-8 at 5-on-5 in their past 10 games.
It was a strange match. We have played well in recent games, but today they were better than us.
According to Sportbladet, Lucas Raymond described the performance against Philadelphia as simply not good enough, saying the team cannot allow such deficits and needs to play with more desperation. The Philadelphia Flyers are on a strong run, improving their playoff chances. Owen Tippett scored a hat trick in the win over Detroit, and the Flyers later beat the New Jersey Devils 5-1.
They also defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 in a shootout, with Tyson Foerster scoring the decisive goal and goaltender Daniel Vladar stopping all four Carolina shootout attempts. This marked Philadelphia's fifth win in its last six games. Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen will play in the NHL playoffs for the first time in his career after 820 regular season games.
It's simply not good enough, we can't let them get a 4-0 lead. We need to play with more desperation and jump if we want to win hockey games.
Other notable results saw the Boston Bruins beat the Minnesota Wild 6-3, extending their lead in the standings. The New York Islanders came back from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Florida Panthers 5-2. Sebastian Aho's Carolina Hurricanes secured the Metropolitan Division title by beating the Boston Bruins 6-5 in overtime.
Joonas Korpisalo played excellently for Boston in that overtime loss, making 17 saves and keeping a clean sheet into overtime, according to multiple reports. The Calgary Flames have found form with key wins. They beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 in a shootout, with Jegor Sjarangovitj scoring the decisive goal, marking their fourth win in the last five games.
Well, you look at the standings and immediately become focused and excited. Every intervention on the ice is so important right now.
However, they lost 4-3 in overtime to the Dallas Stars. In a 4-3 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, Victor Olofsson scored his second goal in as many games, with Mikael Backlund and Pontus Holmberg also scoring. The Florida Panthers had other recent games that provided context for their season.
They beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-2 and the Edmonton Oilers 4-0, with Cole Reinhardt scoring the opening goal in the latter, which was their fourth shutout of the season. They also beat the Detroit Red Wings 8-1 to end their season, with Wilmer Skoog and Ludvig Jansson recording their first NHL points. Sergei Bobrovsky, who had been considered a possible trade piece, stopped all 11 shots he faced in the third period of one game, according to research.
My God, they just ran over us in that period and absolutely poured shots on goal. It was a struggle just to get off the ice.
com, Matthew Tkachuk described the season as a weird year, citing injuries as a major reason for their position and promising a return to form next year. Individual performances and milestones stood out across the league. William Nylander has scored 28 goals this season and broke a four-game goal drought by scoring two goals in a game against the Florida Panthers.
According to SVT Sport, William Nylander described the match against Florida as strange, noting that while Toronto had played well recently, the Panthers were better that day. Oliver Kapanen of the Montreal Canadiens has gone six games without a point and was demoted to the fourth line. With two rounds left in the NHL regular season, the playoff race intensifies.
This is a weird year. We’re not going to make any excuses, but we all know one of the biggest reasons for why we are where we are is all the man games lost. I promise we’re going to be back there again. Hopefully next year.
According to Sportbladet, David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins described looking at the standings and becoming immediately focused and excited, noting every intervention on the ice is so important right now. A key injury concern emerged for Detroit as captain Dylan Larkin left a game midway through the third period after losing an edge and having his right knee buckle following an awkward fall. com, Todd McLellan described the incident, saying Larkin got crumpled up and will be checked out, with the team not thinking it will be long-term.
The exact severity and recovery timeline for Larkin's knee injury is not yet known. Several unknowns linger as the season winds down. Beyond Larkin's status, it is unclear whether the Florida Panthers will make the playoffs next season after missing them this year, or what the specific reasons are behind the Detroit Red Wings' inconsistent performance in recent games.
I thought we created a number of opportunities including some real dangerous ones. But their goaltender played really well and we just didn’t finish.
The impact of injuries on Florida's season performance and their plans for next year also remains to be fully assessed.
He obviously got crumpled up there. He’ll get checked out. We don’t think it is going to be long term, but he needs to be looked at.
He can’t have that much time and space, it is as simple as that. It’s hockey 101, the guy behind the net isn’t going to score, he’s going to get the puck into a scoring area, so we can’t leave the net front.